Note-sheet-guiding device.



winner. n". scene, or raw roan, it. r, assrcnon or own-Ls 'ro aanns'o'oomio'n,

OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

NOTE-SHEET-G'UIDING DEVICE.

Specification of Letter- Patent Patented May it, 19115,

Application filed September 15, 1911. Serial No. 649,444.

To all whom/it may concern Be it known that I, -Wnnnun M. Sroun, a

citizen of tl a United States, and a resident of New York, inIthe county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Note-Sheet- Guiding Devices, of which the followingis a specification.

' maintained by two oppositely acting means,

This invention relates to note-sheet guiding devices for automatic musical instruments.

- lhe object of the invention is to provide means simple in construction and sensitive in operation-for constantly maintaining cor rect registration between the perforations in a note-sheet and the correspondingaper- 'tures, in the tracker-bar of an automatic musical instrument such for instance as a pneumatically actuated playerpiano.

In the drawing accompanying this spraification is illustrated the preferred embodiment of my improvements and Figure l'is a front elevation thereof, parts being shown in section. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevation illustrating a modification of a de tail of my improvements, v

The principle of this invention in whatever form it\is embodied is as follows: Correct registration between the perforations in the note-sheet and the corresponding apertures in -the tracker-bar,. isiconstantly one of said means. being pneumatically worked and the other mechanically worked,

each of said workings being governed by means including thecovering or uncovering respectively as the case may be of a single guide opening by the note-sheet. I

The usual music rolls 2 and 4: are rotatably mounted'in frames 3 .and 5 and roll a may be actuated by its shaft 40, from some:

said apertures to the usual ducts not shown,

whereby the mechanism of the musical in-,

indicated by the sheet perfor ations.

Preferably adjacent to one edge of the path of said note-sheet, tracker-barf is provided with a single-guide opening 10 communicating by pipe 11 with pneumatic'means operable through suitable mechanical con nections for moving said tracker-bar endwise in one direction for maintaining correct registration between the perforations in the note-sheet andthe apertures in said trackerbar. Eor moving said tracker-bar in the other directionl provide mechanicalmeans such as spring 12. Saidpneumatic means comprises actuating pneumatic 13 having its wall 14 fixed to; support 15 of valve b0 l6. Movable wall 17 ishinged at 18 to fixed wall strument is set inmotion to sound the notes 14 and 'is provided with ear 2O connected with tracker-bar 7 by link 21. To movable 7 wall 17 I also attach one end of pull spring a ,12 and secure the other end of said spring to some convenient fixed support as frame 3.

Vacuum chamber 23 in valve box 16 is connected by pipe 24: with some well-known source of exhaust not shown. .daid vacuum chamber is connected with the atmosphere by passage 25, and said passage is connected midway its length by passage 26 and pipe 21 with actuating pneumatic 13,. Double valve 28, 29 on stem 30 is efficient to alternately close passage 25 against atmosphere and.

against vacuum. Primary pneumatic 31, in vacuum chamber 23 operatively engages but- --ton 32 on the inner end of valve stem 30, and

is pneumatically connected at 33 with pipe ll from guidenopening 10.. Said primary pneumatic-is provided with the usual bleed opening .34, into vacuum chamber 23.

While I prefer to arrange guide opening 10 to. be covered or uncovered as the'case may be directly -by'that portion of the notetrated in Fig. 1, other arrangements for covering or uncovering sa d guide-open ng are equally applicable and within the scope ofmy improvements, For instance in Fig. 2 I have illustrated a series of erforati0ns-35, 35. in the DGtG ShQQt more or ess remote from the'edge thereof, 'fbr co-action with guide opening 10 in thextracker-bar. In th s arrangement said guide opening is of suiiicient .sheet adjacent to one edge thereof as illus length transverse said tracker-bar to bridge,

one after another, as the note-sheet travels across the tracker-bar, those portions of said note-sheet between said perforations 35, p

stem 30 by atmospheric pressure on valve 28 whereby said valve is seated to shut off atmosphere from channel. 25 and valve 29 is opened to permit the action of vacuum from chamber 23 to exhaust, through channels 25 and 26 and tube 27, actuating pneumatic 13. Said pneumatic is shown in Fig. 1 as just about to collapse under the pressure of atmosphere and against the tension of spring 12. As actuating pneumatic 13 collapses, its movable wall 17 moved to the left and through link 21, draws tracker-bar 7 with it thus drawing guide opening 10 from under note-sheet 6 and allowing atmosphere to rush through tube 11 into primary pneumatic 31 which thereupon expands against button 32 of valve stem 30 closing valve 29 and shutting of? vacuum from actuating pneumatic 13. By the same means valve 28 is simultaneously opened, admitting atmosphere to said pneumatic 13 which thereupon opens under the pull of spring 12 and tracker-bar 7 moved to the right, whereby said guide opening is restored to itsposition under cover of note-shcet 6. covering of said guide opening for the admission ofatmosphere therethrough and the shutting off of atmosphere therefrom re spectively is then repeated indefinitely, whereby tracker-bar i is held in a state of lengthwise unstable equilibrium, fluctuating back and forth throu h a short stroke relatively to edge or note-sheet 6. 'Thus whether said note-sheet is traveling in its normal path or whet er it deviates therefrom either to the t or left its edge 60 travels constantly 11 -ctly over the outer edge, relatively to the note-sheet, of constantiy shifting opening 10. Any deand guide opening 10 are The uncovering and viatlon of said note-sheet from its'normal path of travel over said tracker-bar is thus continuously met by a substantially equal deviation in the same direction by trachea bar 7. It will therefore be seen that correct registration between the perforations in the note-sheet and the apertures in the trackerbar is constantly maintained, no matter what the lateral deviation of said note-sheet may be'by the opposite alternate endwise movements of tracker-bar 7 governed by the alternate covering and uncovering of guide opening 10.

1. In a note-sheet guiding device the combination of a tracker-bar, a single guide opening appurtenant to said tracker-bar,- an actuating pneumatic for shifting said tracker-bar in one direction, a spring for shifting said tracker-bar in the opposite direction, a single valve for governing the action of said actuating pneumatic and said spring, a primary pneumatic for actuating said valve, the action of said primary pneu- 'matic in opposite directions being governed by means including the admission of atmosphere and the closing against the admission of' atmosphere respectively, of saidguide opening by the note-sheet.

' 2. In a note-*sheet'guiding device the combination of a tracker bar mounted for movement inthe direction of its length, an actuating'pneumatic for shifting the trackerbar in one direction, a spring for shifting said tracker-bar in the other directionaa single guide opening fixed relativelfy to said tracker-bar, and means consisting 0 one primary pneumatic and one valve, whereby,

when said guide opening is covered or uncovered as the case may be by the note sheet said actuating pneumatic is caused to move -thetracker-bar, and When said guide opening is uncovgred or covered respectively by said note-sheet said spring is permitted to move said tracker-bar.

Signed at New York, N, Y., this 14th day of September, 1911, before two subscribing Witnesses.

WILBUR M. STONE. Witnesses:

CHAS. W. Ln Run, LOUIS B. Frsonmn. 

